DDR3-1600 produces errors at rated speed

I just upgraded to 8GB DDR3-1600 (CAS 9-9-9-24) . The default setting in the BIOS when set to auto is to clock it at DDR-1333 I can change that by setting the FSB/DRAM ratio to 4 which produces the desired speed of DDR3-1600. The system is not presently overclocked so the multiplier is at the stock 200. I have latency settings in auto and they reflect the rated speeds for the RAM. (Actual RAM speed and latency are as reported by Memtest86+.)

The motherboard lists supported memory speeds as "DDR3 1600 (OC)/1333/1066/800."

Since installation, the system has locked up twice, requiring a touch of the reset button. I ran Memtest86+ for a bit tis morning and it soon reported gobs of errors. I set the speed back to 1333 (FSB/DRAM ratio to Auto.) and it is running Memtest86+ without error.

Is this likely a problem with RAM or MB? Should I expect correct operation at 1600 with a Phenom II processor? Should I be bumping the RAM voltage a bit to see if that helps with the problem? There are a few other settings in the BIOS regarding the RAM but I'm not sure what I should be tweaking, if anything. Or should I consider RAMing the RAM?

Sorry, no Windows so no CPU-Z shots.

At present I'm nudging RAM voltage up to see if that helps. 1.500V -> 1.507V still produces errors. I'm testing at 1.515V right now.

thanks,
hank

You may need to nudge up the voltage to the memory controller. I'm not that familiar w/ AMD, so I can't tell you exactly what setting to change in your BIOS, but it's something to consider if RAM voltage doesn't seem to get you anywhere.

The chipset voltage on that board is adjusted via the CPU-NB Voltage setting. Default voltage should be 1.10V, so try bumping it up to ~1.15-1.20V w/ the DRAM frequency at DDR3-1600 / 9-9-9-24 and 1.55V.

My set of G.Skill 1600 ram is rated for 1.6V, even though the mobo auto setting is always at 1.5V.

Thanks for the tips. I set it to DDR3-1600 and set:

- DRAM voltage from 1.5 -> 1.597
- CPU-NB voltage from 1.209 -> 1.222 (*)
- CPU-NB VDD - 1.100 -> 1.200

(*) It looks like the CPU-NB default is 1.209. Or maybe 1.200. I raised it until it was just shy of the 'red zone' where MSI does not recommend setting it.

No joy, It still produced errors in Memtest86+.

The problem could be in the mobo as well. Despite the "military grade components" it seems not to be such a solid piece of H/W. When I purchased it, Newegg listed it for processors up to 140 watts. At the time I took a snapshot of their approved CPU list from MSI's web site which included a couple 125 watt processors. They have pulled those from the list and now recommend only up to 95 watt processors. Another site has a list of these that have suffered VRM failures (and I have added copper VRM coolers.) I have no idea if that is related to the CPU-NB voltage, but that is what limited my overclock. At a multiplier of 250 the system was otherwise stable except for no sound and difficulty mounting some USB devices. I upped the CPU-NB voltage and that cured the problem. And then sound dropped out again. Bumping the CPU-NB a bit cured it again. And this fall after the weather had cooled, sound dropped again. This time bumping the CPU-NB voltage to just shy of the recommended limit did not solve the problem. At that point I became concerned about what seemed like progressive deterioration so I backed out of my overclock and have been running at stock speeds. Since redduc900 focused on CPU-NB voltage and I may have problems there, I suspect I will have to settle on running this at DDR3-1333 until I upgrade the mobo. It seems to be pretty stable under that condition and in the long run, that's what really matters.

thanks,
hank